Module 1- Beef Cattle Production

Herd Management
Lesson 5

The goal of herd management is to produce a crop of high quality,

heavyweight calves. The factors that contribute to the accomplishment of this goal
are:
a. Early sexual maturity of females,
b. High conception rate,
c. Early rebreeding after calving,
d. Excellent milk production of the cows,
e. Availability of a year-round feed supply, and
f. Others
Quality of management , plane of nutrition and farm infrastructure are
important determinants of profit or loss.

Herd Division

Herd division ensures the appropriate nutrition of various age groups of the
herd, prevent premature breeding which seriously affect the growth of young
bulls and heifers and prevent high rate of abortion resulting from butting and
fighting of animals.
 Animals may be divided into the following herds:
a. Pregnant herd- composed of pregnant females. Cows are grouped with the
breeding herd during the breeding season.
b. Breeding herd- consists of dry cows and heifers ready for breeding. After the
breeding season, pregnant animals are transferred to the pregnant herd.
c. Heifer herd- composed of heifers not yet ready for breeding. Heifer calves are
included in this herd after weaning.
d. Steers, feeders or fattening herd- consists of growing cattle and those to be
fattened for the market.
e. Bull herd- consists of mature males kept mainly for servicing the breeder
cows.
Management of breeding Females
a. Lactating and pregnant cows
Once the cows are determined pregnant, they should be separated from the herd
to prevent injury and possible abortion due to riding, buttling and fighting with
other animals. The sign of pregnancy are the cessation of estrus or heat and the
enlargement of the abdomen and udder. However, a more reliable pregnancy test
is the manual examination of the reproductive tract by way of the rectum and
colon to verify pregnancy in cattle. This method needs training and experience.

b. Open cows and replacement hefeirs

Open or non-pregnant cows and replacement heifers should be given
the right amount of feed daily to ensure that they are in the right
physiological status. Animals with reproductive problems and those
which fail to settle after the clean-up breeding period should be culled.
Management of Calves, Growers and fatteners
a. Calves
Calves should suckle colostrums milk from their mother within
three hours after calving.
b. Grower
Growers are usually maintained in the pasture with very little
attention, they are given salt and mineral supplement.
c. Fatteners
Fatteners require a short period to reach slaughter weight. They
are generally bigger, mature or nearing maturity. However, one and a half
to two year-old animals weighing 200-300kg, are preferred. They may be
fattened either in feedlot, on pasture or both areas.

Management of Breeding Bulls

Breeding bull should be selected purebred because it contributes 50%

of the genetic makeup of the offspring. They should be in good condition
 at the start of the breeding season. Selected bulls should be given
supplemented feeding of grains or concentrates 60-0 days before and after
the breeding period depending on their condition. A breeding bull should
be kept in the herd as long as he is aggressive enough to mate. However, to
avoid inbreeding, a bull should be kept out of the herd after two and a half
to three years when the offspring reach the breeding age.

GENERAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Cattle Identification

This practice is necessary for management purposes and to denote

ownership. Branding with hot iron is the most common method of
identifying cattle. The animals should be legally branded, The brand must
be properly registered by the owner with the livestock identification office
of the municipality concerned. The owner’s brand is placed on the
animal’s left forelegs.

Putting ear tags or ear notch are other effective methods of identifying
cattle.

Dehorning

Dehorning has the following advantages:

a. Dehorning cattle requires less spaces in feedlots
b. They occupy less space in transit or shipment
c. They are more uniform in appearance

Method:
a. A very young calves whose horn bottons grow a little can be dehormed by
applying caustic soda or a commercial dehorming paste on the horn button.
b. Calves with horn bottons not over 1.5-2.0 cm long can be easily dehorned with
dehorning irons
c. Older animals are dehorned with either a metal spoon, Bames dehorner, a
dehorning clipper or hand or electric saws.
Castration
Bull calves can be castrated any time; but preferably when they are a few
week to seven months of age. The slit and the cap methods are both effective ways of
surgically removing testicles. Bloodless castration can also be done with burdizzo
pinchers or Emasculator. Castration tends to decrease the rate of liveweight gain by
15%-20%, it should be resorted to only when there is difficulty in separating males
from females, e.g. inadequate fencing or limited availability of pasture paddocks.
Record Keeping
 Records list genetically superior cattle that may be used for breeding,.
Moreover, slow-gaining heifers, bulls that produce undesirable hereditary traits, and
those that do not perform satisfactory despite good feeding and management can be
identified, too. These animals are culled or removed to improve the herd quality and
to icrease profit in beef production.
Selection and Culling
Breeding stock with poor performance should be culled for slaughter. There
are as follows:
a. A cow that calves every one and a half to two years.
b. A cow that produce a little amount of milk and raises a small calf despite good
feeding and management.
c. Small, weak and unhealthy animals which are susceptible to diseases and may
become the source of infection of the herd if not removed on time.
d. Heifers that fail to meet the standard set for the breeding herd.
e. Heifers do not come in heat in spite of proper age, good size, healthy
condition, vigor and strength.
f. Bulls and cows are which have undesirable hereditary defects such as inverted
teats, hernia, dwarfism, bull dog, cryptorchidism( failure of one or both teats
to descend normally), and the like,

Congratulations my dear student, you have already knowledge about the Herd
Management of cattle.

Finally, I will be able to check what you have understood and digged through a self
checking activity. Please, answer the activities below and to follow the instructions
religiously. Enjoy the knowledge check and good luck guys!

Discussion: Discuss comprehensively the following questions below..

1. How availability of a year round feed feed supply can affect the production of
milk?
2. How important does colostrums contribute to a calf?
3. What are the disadvantages of inbreeding? How will you avoid inbreeding in a
herd?
4. Compare branding and ear notching. If you will be going to decide what
method of identification you will execute, what will it be and why?
5. What is the importance of dehorning?
6. Does a cryptorchid bull can still impregnate heifer? Why?